McDonald's

McDonald's is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across more than 36,000 outlets. Founded in the United States in 1940, the company began as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald. In 1948, they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth.

A McDonald's restaurant is operated by either a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The McDonald's Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. In 2012, the company had annual revenues of $27.5 billion and profits of $5.5 billion. According to a 2012 BBC report, McDonald's is the world's second largest private employer—behind Walmart—with 1.9 million employees, 1.5 million of whom work for franchises.

Drive-through

A drive-through, or drive-thru, is a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United States in the 1930s by Jordan Martin, but has since spread to other countries. The first recorded use of a bank using a drive-up window teller was the Grand National Bank of St. Louis, Missouri in 1930. The drive-up teller allowed only deposits at that time.

Orders are generally placed using a microphone and picked up in person at the window. A drive-through is different from a drive-in in several ways - the cars create a line and move in one direction in drive-throughs, and do not park, whereas drive-ins allow cars to park next to each other, the food is generally brought to the window by a server, called a carhop, and the customer can remain in the parked car to eat.

Drive-throughs have generally replaced drive-ins in popular culture, and are now found in the vast majority of modern American fast-food chains. Sometimes, a store with a drive-through is referred to as a "drive-through," or the term is attached to the service, such as, "drive-through restaurant," or "drive-through bank."

Power Wheels

Power Wheels is a brand of battery-powered ride-on toy cars for kids ages 12 months to seven years old. Power Wheels ride-ons are built with kid-sized, realistic features – in some cases, real working features like FM radios, opening/closing doors and hoods, power lock brakes, and both forward and reverse motion.

History

The Power Wheels brand name dates back to 1984, when San Francisco-based toy company Kransco acquired Pines of America, makers of battery-powered vehicles for children. Two years later, Kransco renamed the line "Power Wheels". By 1990 sales of the battery-powered vehicles reached over 1,000,000 per year.

In 1994, Power Wheels was purchased by Mattel. Following Mattel's acquisition of Kransco, the Power Wheels line immediately became part of Fisher-Price toys out of East Aurora, New York. With the addition of new vehicle licenses the new Power Wheels by Fisher-Price and Mattel lines did well.

In 1999, Fisher-Price announced the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Ride-On – which contributed to a year of record sales for the entire product line.

Happy Meal

A "Happy Meal" is a form of kids' meal specifically marketed at children, sold at the fast-food chain McDonald's since June 1977. A toy is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a box or paper bag with the McDonald's logo. The packaging and toy are frequently part of a marketing tie-in to an existing television show, film, or toy brand.

Product description

The Happy Meal contains a main item (typically a hamburger, cheeseburger, or small serving of Chicken McNuggets), a side item (french fries, apple slices, or a salad in some areas), and a drink (milk, juice, or a soft drink). The choice of items changes from country to country, and may depend on the size of the restaurant.

In some countries, the choices have been expanded to include items such as a grilled cheese sandwich (known as a "Fry Kid"), or more healthy options such as apple slices, a mini snack wrap, salads, or pasta, as one or more of the options.

In most countries, McDonald's has introduced a "healthy option" to the Happy Meal. Children have always been able to choose milk with their Happy Meal and the chain added fruit juice drink instead of a soft drink, and bags of dried fruit (or a whole piece of fruit such as an apple or carrot sticks) in place of fries.

Bad Kids

Bad Kids may refer to:

See also